Improvement in processing performance of a specimen analyzer such as a device for immunoassay has been desired in order to process many specimens by means of plural kinds of reagent. Accordingly, the analyzer holds plural reaction containers for containing reagents and specimens and comprises a rotation table for moving the reaction containers smoothly to a predetermined position, plural dispensation sections for dispensing specimens or reagents into the reaction containers in accordance with an operation of the rotation table and the like.
In such an analyzer, an operation of the analyzer should be stopped when abnormality occurs during measurement of a specimen. Stopping all of the operations of the analyzer, however, causes suspension of measurement of a specimen having been mixed with a reagent. A specimen whose measurement has been suspended once cannot be used again. This causes a problem that the specimen and reagent are wasted.
For the purpose of solving the problem, disclosed in JP-A-H03-183955 is an automatic analyzing device in which a mechanism other than the section related to the reaction table and light measurement is stopped while operations of the reaction table and the light measurement are continued when abnormality related to any one of a specimen dispensation section, a reagent dispensation section and a stirring section occurs. Such a technology allows a part of the specimens to be continuously measured even in the case of occurrence of abnormality in any one of the specimen dispensation section, the reagent dispensation section and the stirring section, so that a waste of a specimen and a reagent may be reduced.
In the automatic analyzer in accordance with JP-A-H03-183955, an operation of the device is stopped in some cases under a condition that a pipette in the dispensation section is inserted in the reaction container held on the reaction table when abnormality occurs in the specimen dispensation section, the reagent dispensation section or the stirring section. In this case, abnormality occurring in a detection sensor for detecting a position of the pipette prevents the analyzer from detecting insertion of the pipette in the reaction container. This is likely to cause a pipette to be damaged when the reaction table operates or cause the reaction table not to be able to properly operate.